Geologists will tell you Ottawa sits on a bedrock of limestone and shale — but most people on the Hill will tell you its true foundations are built on dubious intel shared over lattes and whiskey, depending on the time of day. This week, the buzz about a PMO staff shuffle was loud enough to inspire one seasoned reporter to write a blog post about it. No word yet on whether it’s true, but we’ll keep you posted.

In Eastern Europe, Russian artillery fired across the border at Ukrainian military units, NATO said today. The news came a day after what NATO calls a “Russian so-called humanitarian convoy” entered Ukraine through a border post controlled by pro-Russian rebels. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen condemned the convoy’s move into Ukraine as “a blatant breach of Russia’s international commitments.” Rasmussen’s strong warning echoed similar comments from the White House. Foreign Minister John Baird joined the chorus: “Once again, Russia has flouted its international obligations and demonstrated its contempt for Ukraine’s sovereignty.”

Harper continued his Arctic tour today, but with little to report so far Friday, the absence of Chinese media has grabbed some attention as a reporter from the country’s official news service complained, ironically, of Canadian government censorship.

They’re not saying it’s about the Trudeau break-in, but Ottawa police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man caught on a security camera “in relation to a recent nighttime prowling incident in the Rockcliffe area.” Trudeau’s Rockcliffe home was broken into early Saturday morning. Security camera footage released by police shows a bearded man who appears to be speaking on a mobile phone as he passes through the frame.

As yet unconfirmed reports have it that Canada and Mexico have won their WTO case against American country-of-origin meat labeling rules (COOL) that reportedly are costing Canadian beef and pork producers $1 billion a year. The Wall Street Journal first reported the victory in the COOL case, citing unnamed sources. Both Canada’s Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and the Cattlemen’s Association are withholding a victory hoedown until the result of the case is made official — expected next week — but they were happy to voice their disdain for the “absurd” U.S. policy.

Pick and Pay — good for TV viewers and potentially very bad for the companies that employ 30,000 of them. The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is warning that the CRTC’s proposal to allow consumers to pick individual channels from cable and satellite providers — rather than being required to buy broad packages — could force as many as 19 small Canadian TV stations to close. It’s a popular plan with consumers, who have long complained of have to buy ten channels to get one. In unrelated news, Netflix stock hit an all-time high on the NASDAQ exchange — again.

Westlock-St. Paul MP Brian Storseth says that when the writ drops, he’s out. The 36-year-old Conservative backbencher from Alberta said it has been difficult to spend so much time away from his family and will be pursuing opportunities closer to home.